Your Top Potty Training Questions Answered by a Pro!

Your Top Potty Training Questions Answered by a Pro!

By Kathleen Tomes, President of Brilliant Baby Products

 

 

June is National Potty Training Awareness Month! Potty Training can be stressful and confusing for parents and kids.  If you have a young child, chances are you have a ton of questions on how to begin the process so you can ditch the diapers.  I asked Lynn Ell Tilker, potty training pro and creator of the new eco-friendly Potty Training System, BottomZz Up, to help us breakdown potty training protocol and answer your most frequently asked questions.

 

 

Q: How do parents know when it is time to start potty training?

A: I believe a child should be walking and talking so that they are able to communicate. There are also signs to look for such as following you into the bathroom, wanting to flush the toilet, play with toilet paper, and acknowledging that they are wet or soiled.  I’ve found the best way to find out, though, is to communicate with the child and ask them “Do you want to use the potty?” or “Do you want to go and get potty stuff?” Communication with the child is a must when determining whether or not a child is ready to potty train.

Q: How long should it take to potty train a child?

A: There is no magic number. Each child moves through milestones at different rates. It is all about what I call their ‘Potty Personality’ and if they are ready or not.  It also depends on the parent’s willingness to commit to the process and actively engage with their child. Don’t expect it to happen overnight. Potty training is a learned behavior just like everything else in life.

 

 

Q: What are the top mistakes parents make when potty training?

A: There are several common mistakes that are all counterproductive to potty training. Negativity and getting mad at your child over accidents is a big one. Children will feed off of that negativity and not want to participate in the process.  Accidents happen so be prepared.  Lack of consistency is also another common mistake.  Putting kids in underwear all day long and then putting them in a pull-up at night causes confusion.  You just told them that it is ok to wet themselves because you don’t want to be inconvenienced at night.  This also happens when parents try to potty train for a weekend and then give up once the work week starts because they are too busy.  Parents need to know that once they start potty training, they need to be committed to the process 24/7.

Q: What is the biggest myth about potty training that you’ve heard?

A: I think the biggest myth is the parents can decide when a child is ready.  The child and the parent both have to be ready.  It is a team effort and both parties need to want it.  I meet a lot of parents who equate potty training success to good parenting and put a ton of pressure on themselves and their kids. Or they use the preschool guidelines as a reason to start potty training.  My advice to parents is not to let your friends, family or the school influence your decision of when to start potty training.  Ultimately if your child and you are not ready, you will not be successful and the whole process will take longer and be more stressful for everyone.

 

 

Q: What is the key to successful potty training?

A: My potty training philosophy is centered around consistency, encouragement, participation and celebration. I believe that all of these elements together are necessary for potty training success.   I created BottomZz Up to give parents an entire system that was not only based on my potty training philosophy a system but that also bridges the learning gap and cuts the confusion of potty training.  Because BottomZz Up allows parents to potty train at home or on the go and during the day and night, children are 100% potty trained when they complete the program.  There are no extra steps involved!  It is not a magic bullet but if you are committed you being your child’s potty partner, you will both be successful.

For more information about BottomZz Up:

BottomZz Up is the only potty training system that allows toddlers to actually feel the discomfort of their accidents! The 100% chemical-free, cotton potty training underwear features proprietary technology that lets kids feel wet when they are wet, while at the same time, preventing leaks and messy clean ups. Perfect for families on-the-go, BottomZz Up offers the consistency, routine and encouragement kids need, day and night, home or out on the town.  Plus, it helps parents save money and reduce environmental waste compared to disposable training pants. MSRP: $97.45. Available online atwww.BottomZzUp.com

 

By day, Lynn Ell Tilker is a Senior Business Manager for a fortune 50 company.  By night she is the Founder, Creator and President of eCubed Designs, LLC. eCubed Designs is a company created from the heart to develop products that are economically, environmentally and emotionally friendly. Every product she designs has to meet all of these qualities to be included in eCubed’s product portfolio.

 

Lynn has long been active in not-for-profit organizations and causes.  Most recently, As Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of the Tilker Medical Research Foundation, a Foundation created on behalf of Stem-cell research and Nano-technology, she was a producer of the Asian tsunami relief benefit concert organized by Bay Area Unites, which raised over $1.5 million.  As Chairman of the ‘Zoom’ auxiliary committee of the San Francisco Film Festival, fundraiser, benefit coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation and Producer for a documentary film which first aired at the Sundance Film Festival to raise awareness for the release of a Bio-Scientist wrongly accused of Bio-Terrorism under the Patriot Act.

Lynn loves spending time with her daughter, Harper Rose, and their dog Duke. She is passionate about developing products that have a positive impact on the world.

 

Brilliant Baby Products was founded by Kathleen Tomes, a successful entrepreneur and mother of adorable toddler twins, Brilliant Baby Products embodies Kathleen’s personal quest for parenting-made-easier. As a mom, Kathleen has found that certain mommy-must-have products not only granted her the gift of time, but also increased her enjoyment of her earliest, most tender moments with her children. As an entrepreneur who made her first million by the time she was 28 years old, Kathleen has applied her sales and media savvy to Brilliant Baby Products– a full service sales, packaging, and media resource for baby product inventors and makers.

 

Prior to founding Brilliant Baby Products, Kathleen spent 13 years serving the sales and marketing needs of consumer brands and retailers, including Canon, Epson, Hasbro Toys, Mattel, Gillette, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Costco, Staples, Target, Pea in the Pod. This experience gave her the consumer product and retail industry insight to establish a highly successful one-stop sales, packaging, and media resource focused on baby products, an industry for which she has a personal passion.